Optimization and Visualization Tools for Situational Awareness in Highly
Renewable Power Systems
Abstract
As submitted to IEEE EnergyCon 2020
Abstract:
This paper proposes new tools for predicting and visualising the
plausible near term shifts in branch loading that may arise due to
output fluctuations from renewable generators. These tools are proposed
to enhance situational awareness for control room operators, by
providing early warnings of where bottlenecks may manifest in a
transmission system. For predicting plausible branch loading shifts, a
linear optimal power flow formulation is presented which uses a novel
objective function to characterise the maximum loading a branch could be
exposed to in the short term. This analysis therefore identifies which
branches could become overloaded due to shifts in output from volatile
generators. Equivalently, these branches can be seen as congestion
bottlenecks which may cause curtailment of renewable generation. To
allow the system operator to maintain awareness of such potentialities,
these congestable branches are highlighted on a system diagram which is
drawn to explicitly portray the electrical distance between components
in the network.